Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Individual and cultural aspects condition alcohol intake. OBJECTIVE: To identify the effect of interventions conducted in Latin America on consumption patterns or associated risk factors for alcohol consumption among young university students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Systematic review based on a PICO question. A literature search was conducted from April to August 2020 in PubMed, CUIDEN, BVS, Scielo, Google Scholar, and Governmental Repositories. DeCS and MeSH descriptors in Spanish, English, and Portuguese were used with Boolean operators AND and OR. Eligibility criteria included experimental and quasi-experimental studies published between 2014 and 2020. Forty-nine articles were identified, and critical reading allowed the selection of 8 articles to which the AMSTAR2, TREND, and CONSORT appraisal tools were used, leaving 6 articles for analysis. In accordance with Article 10 of Resolution 008430/93, this was considered risk-free research. RESULTS: Single-component interventions reported effects on behavioral beliefs, attitudes, knowledge of the substance, academic performance, lower frequency of drinking, and not driving under the influence of alcohol. Multicomponent interventions reduced consumption risk by 3.03% and reported positive perceptions regarding the usefulness of activities, expectations fulfillment, overall satisfaction, quality of materials used, attendance, and punctuality. DISCUSSION: The studies suggest implementing new interventions, strategies and policies in primary health to promote a social, educational and health transformation that generate a favorable impact to mitigate the current problem of alcohol consumption in university students. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review made it possible to synthesize and evaluate the available evidence on single- and multicomponent interventions in Latin America and the Caribbean that positively modify risk factors and consumption patterns in young university students.